Millions of people were unable to sign up for insurance on healthcare.gov when the website crashed Oct. 1.

The Affordable Care Act will be the first time that some people have ever had health insurance. For others, it means saving hundreds of dollars a month out of pocket once they’re actually able to sign up.

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“We’re carpenters, so we’re up and down ladders and we do our best to be safe,” said Marc Barron, a carpenter for Seaside Builders. “There’s risk involved in any job.”

Power tools, ladders and working through the winter building a home is already a hard job, and it could be even harder without health insurance, Barron said.

“When I average out how much I’ve spent out of pocket, plus the insurance, I’m paying over $1,300 a month right now so something would be good to have better health insurance.”

Barron and his wife have good jobs but they don’t get benefits for their family of four. That’s why he wanted to sign up as soon as possible on healthcare.gov.

“I was able to sign in, get a username and a password and at that point, I was shut out of the website and that’s as far as I got,” Barron said.

Barron is not alone.

It’s a problem millions have dealt with, but there are ways around it. There are people locally who can help folks sign up for a plan under the Affordable Care Act.

“People’s reactions really say everything and people are really happy about what’s going to be available with these new programs,” said Libby Cummings of the Portland Community Health Center.

The good news is, it’s still too early to panic, officials said.

“If you’re having trouble with the website, do keep trying,” Cummings said. “They make improvements to the website every day, we’re being told. And every week it’s supposed to be getting better. But I really would strongly encourage sending in a paper application just for your own peace of mind.”

Barron said his peace of mind will come from not spending as much on insurance.

“I have no problem paying for my insurance,” he said. “I’d just like to pay a reasonable amount for good coverage and not go broke in the process and not worry about going broke if there is an accident.”

People have until Dec. 15 to ensure they will have insurance by Jan. 1.